Do you ever feel guilty for being lazy? At times introverts who prefer a slower pace and ample alone time can seem downright slothful.
It doesn’t help that we live in a fast-paced, extroverted world with little patience for those who stop to smell the roses.
Maybe you’d rather lie in a bed of roses than sniff them. A long nap would be nice, or perhaps a lazy day curled up with a good book.
When you feel like your need for R&R outweighs your motivation to get important things done, it’s easy to feel badly about yourself. ‘
The real cause of introvert laziness
The truth is that chronic laziness could be your body’s way of telling you that your lifestyle is not in sync with your introverted needs.
Chances are that the balance between outer stimulation and inner stimulation is off.
You see, introverts are easily overstimulated by outer world tasks, like running errands and socializing.
What we often forget is that we do need a great deal of inner stimulation (not the sexual kind, though that’s nice, too).
Introverts need to have enough mental, creative, and spiritual stimulation to stay engaged and motivated.
We’ll never be satisfied with a life focused solely on outer world tasks that create no inner spark.
So, if you’ve been in chronic sloth mode lately, consider these questions:
- Are you mentally challenged enough?
- Do you have daily time to reflect and find your center?
- Do you have projects that you’re passionate about?
- Do your goals excite you?
- Do you have people with whom you can share your inner thoughts and feelings?
- Do you have a creative outlet that you partake in regularly?
For introverts, being able to answer yes to most of the above questions is a key part of staying motivated and feeling alive.
Otherwise, we risk sleepwalking our way through life, feeling foggy and tired without really knowing why.
The other key aspect of overcoming introvert laziness is to honour your introvert energy needs.
You can do this by finding the right balance between outer and inner world activities. Allow me to explain…
People often tell me that I’ve “turned into an extrovert” because my hobbies include standup comedy and salsa dancing.
They don’t realize that I take great care to balance my ‘out there’ hobbies with plenty of quiet, restorative activities, such as yoga, journalling, writing, and walks.
I’m also energized by the passion that I feel for my creative hobbies, even if they do cause me to feel overstimulated at times.
As an introvert, it’s important to say no to activities that drain you and yes to those that light you up inside. The same goes for people.
Some of your friends and acquaintances may drain you, while others lift your up. It’s ok to take a step back from relationships that suck the life out of you.
Over to you
Do you struggle with introvert laziness? I’d love to hear about your experience with this. Please do share your thoughts in the comments below. 🙂
Love,
P.S. If you’re new to the blog, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Michaela Chung, author of The Irresistible Introvert and creator of this amazing innie community we have here. For several years, I’ve been building up a labyrinth of introvert resources that will take you on a magical journey toward more confidence, connection, and self-love. Start with this free Introvert Connection Guide.
I just don’t see the urgency in anything.I am not bothered by it.
This was the exact article I needed! My answer was no to all the above questions unfortunately for me. I will have to try and make the answer yes to at least one soon.
Same here. When I was younger the answer would have been yes to most of those questions. I feel like I had all the time in the world then to draw, write poetry, and just be thoughtful. Now, it seems like I am just trying to make it through each day and there’s not much time for anything else. I don’t even set goals anymore because I feel exhausted by each day.
Thanks a lot. It’s really true 🥰 and helpful.
I think “lazy” is the wrong word to describe introverts’ slower way of living, and that we need more time to think about things. I’m an introvert and I’m not lazy, nor did it ever occur to me that others might think that I am until I read this article.
The word lazy applies to me and that is a struggle
Where I set many goals that I can reach logically
But the years pass and I do not do because of laziness
I once read about a video about the trait of laziness
But I didn’t know what the name of the test might be
Find tips with it
Thanks for this article and it has come in good time
People often mistaken for being lazy coz I spend the lager part of the day indoors, mostly reading books and thinking slot.apperrently no friends at all,I think the word friend is alien to me.i hate competitions and don’t judge people; always believing that there aren’t such thing as too late in life as long as live a contented simple life I don’t care to become successful at 70!!!!